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Archive for August, 2010

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Another Piece of the Recovery Puzzle?

August 31st, 2010 by Karla Setchel

Hi Folks,
I hope you’ve had a good week.  I’m still in the “getting back into a routine” phase.  It’s taking longer than I expected, in fact longer than it ever has before; however, I’ve never taken 2 weeks off and then came back with a new method of doing business so I’ll give myself a break! Maybe the fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue make it harder to re-start my engines.  I’m moving forward and that’s a good thing so I will consider myself blessed.

Speaking of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue,  I received my cortisol test results back yesterday and it was on the low side.  My Dr.  said that cortisol is what breaks down fats in the body so they can enter the blood stream and get to the nerve cells (and all the other cells that need fat to be healthy) .  He said the low cortisol along with my low cholestoral levels can cause symptoms that mimic FMS & CFS as well as cause neurological damage so he has put me on a “medium dose” of Cortef (the generic is Hydrocortisone).  My Dr. usually recommends herbs, homeopathic medicines and other natural remedies but said that he wasn’t aware of any for this condition, so we had to go with a prescription.  I’m really hoping that this will be a huge step forward in my healing process.  I’m looking forward to getting more involved with life again!  I can see the day when I can walk without a cane, walker or have to use a wheel chair.  The day when I can sit upright in a “regular” chair comfortably for hours.  When I can hike up to the waterfall that I used to hike to with my parents and daughter.  When I can attend festivals and gatherings of all types and be able to enjoy them from morning ’til night.  It makes me smile to think of these things and I’m so looking forward to doing them again so I will continue to seek recovery and wellness.

If you have good health, I hope you appreciate that tremendous blessing.  If you’ve struggled with your health I hope something I’ve written in my many blog posts will help you on your road to recovery.  If you have had health problems in the past but found a way to overcome them, I would like to hear from you because it may be something I haven’t tried yet or information that would be helpful for someone in my Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue/Chronic Pain Support Group.

Here’s to Feeling Better!

Karla Setchel

(540) 366-6134

www.KarlaSetchel.com

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Posted in Business, Managing Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue & TMJ, Pain Relief, Reducing Impact of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue, Support Groups, Survival & Recovery | 31 Comments »

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Getting Started Again After a “Staycation”

August 24th, 2010 by Karla Setchel

Hey Folks,

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written.  I took a 2 week “staycation” – that word will be in the dictionary one day!  My son and I visited some of my Aunts, Uncles and cousins, played a little pool and watched a lot of DVD’s.  We learned that there is a right and a wrong way to insert the case back into Red Box.  He had a few more stick shift driving lessons with my roomie and a lot of free time to do what he wanted before starting back to school.  He’s very active so he ran with his cross country team in the mornings, hiked surrounding mountains, took his girlfriend to a local zoo and a cookout at a  lake.

I had time to realize that I need more balance in my life – which I believe will bring more happiness and profit than working during all of the time that I have any strength  to avoid having to deal with the emotions of my ex-boyfriend breaking up with me over a year ago.  I knew that I was using work as an escape, but it has always been my way of running away from hurtful situations and it has served me well; however, it’s time to deal with it and move on.

Now the hard part, getting back into a routine that includes work!  I’m a perfectionist, like most people who have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue, and I’m learning a new method (new for me) for my marketing business.  So I don’t feel comfortable making that first call until I’ve mastered all of the training—which I seem to be having a hard time finishing.  The training is great and much easier than any I’ve done in the past – it actually makes sense to me, but as soon as I’m finished the training – I’ll have to pick up the phone & start talking to people – which I’m good at, so why the procrastination?  I bet Leelja could tell me!  Any of you marketing people out there ever had trouble picking up the phone?

Anyway, I’m slowly creating a new routine that includes some light exercise with my osteoball, marketing work, taking care of me work ( fixing dinner and doing the dishes ), spiritual time, and relaxation – all without feeling guilty about not working my marketing business during all of my “productive” time.  Oh yeah, and I’m supposed to remember to be flexible too .

Here’s to Feeling Better!

Karla Setchel

(540) 366-6134

www.KarlaSetchel.com

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Posted in Business, Make Extra Money, Managing Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue & TMJ, Reducing Impact of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue, Relationship, Survival & Recovery, exercise | 20 Comments »

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Another Helpful Technique for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue

August 2nd, 2010 by Karla Setchel

Hey Folks,

I hope that you’ve had a good week.  If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I have tried many things both traditional and “non-traditional” (anything not accepted by the American Medical Association as “medicine”) techniques and products in my efforts to recover from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, TMJ, IBS etc… . Recently, I met Leelja Baur-Davidson through a blog group.  She has training in NeurolLinguistic Programming, hypnosis, psychotherapy, and with the Elders and Shamans of various Native American Tribes.  I’ve worked with her four times over the phone and really believe she is helping.  It’s interesting how much your emotions affect your body, even emotions you aren’t aware of or think you’ve gotten over.  She’s very perceptive and intuitive and I have had a few days with less than usual pain, so it appears that recognizing and releasing some of this old emotional stuff has been beneficial.  She explained to me that what she is doing is like shaking a kaleidoscope until you get the picture you want.  Since “the picture I want” is to be  “healthy, free, prosperous and strong” (my new mantra), I plan to continue my sessions with Leelja until I make sure that there is nothing in my subconscious holding me back.  This will be a big change for me since my past coping mechanism was to run away from painful emotions by being too busy to deal with them.

Did that “coping mechanism” cause or contribute to the very real pain and exhaustion of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, TMJ and IBS?  In my case, I would say that at the very least, it has contributed — so I’m taking the steps I feel necessary to change my behavior and thought processes in order to create vibrant health in all areas of my life.
If you’re interested in finding out what Leelja can do for you, contact her at (480) 353-1095.

Here’s to Feeling Better!

Karla Setchel

www.KarlaSetchel.com

(540) 366-6134

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Managing Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue & TMJ, Pain Relief, Reducing Impact of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue, Survival & Recovery, TMJ/TMJD/TMD | 23 Comments »